First Fight
by adORing18
Summary: Janet and Eddie have the first substantive fight of their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Thursday night. 11pm.

Janet and Eddie had both gotten off work late tonight, around 7:30. It had been a long week for both of them. Sully had recently made some menu changes that weren't exactly going over swimmingly with the Ridge regulars, and Janet had gotten earful upon earful nearly every night for the last week. As for Eddie, he and Nick had run up against some major setbacks with the school project and Eddie felt like he'd been kissing so many butts in an effort to smooth the waters that his lips were getting chapped. That night Eddie had come over to Janet's. He'd picked up dagwoods from Murph's on his way and they'd dined by candlelight in Janet's little kitchen, tasty sandwiches, Lay's BBQ chips, baby dills, and a couple of longnecks to punctuate their marathon days.

Eddie was too tired to go home and had to be up early so, as had become a comfortable habit lately, he'd climbed into Janet's bed to get a good night's sleep before facing the chopping block again tomorrow. In spite of the ever tightening vice work had been lately, he felt a comfortable grounding here in her bed, laying on the white, 300-count, super clean sheets that smelled of Tide and Janet. He smiled to himself, remarking at how the woman had shown him the domestic light, as it were. Before dating her he hadn't known sheets from shinola. But even hanging out with her doing laundry had become a fun pastime. He was amazed how many quirky things he'd learned about her just doing mundane things together. Like her disdain for fabric softener. Unlike Eddie's mom, who'd purchased Downy by the palette and softened every washcloth and towel within an inch of its life so that actually drying off after a shower was next to impossible, Eddie knew that Janet eschewed fabric softener altogether. She preferred her sheets crisp and her towels absorbent. Who knew? So, while these sheets weren't the softest he'd ever felt, they were so clean, so crunchy, and so firm you could bounce a quarter off them.

These were the thoughts running through his head as he waited in bed for Janet while she brushed her teeth. He laughed to himself. He must be exhausted if all he could think about were sheets and fabric softener as he awaited his girlfriend in their love nest. He hadn't even noticed the music playing in the background. Janet must've put in the mix Eddie had made her when they very first started dating. He loved to kid her about her taste in music so he'd "brought her to the light" with a power ballads mix. He could hear Boston in the background. Boston – now there was a band. It was the final lines of "My Destination" off Third Stage. _And, feeling the way I do, wouldn't last a mile without you. When I'm losin' the way, the things that you say take me there…my destination, is by your side, right by your side._ For a two-minute song, that baby sure packed a wallop. As if on cue, Janet walked in just then. How could it be that girl could rock his holey, gray Knight's Ridge football t-shirt that was now a full decade old? Her hair down, her socks still on, his t-shirt hanging to mid-thigh; she was a grungy vision. He whipped the sheets back on her side of the bed and lay out his arm parallel to her pillow, an invitation for her to nuzzle in. She RSVP'd with pleasure.

Neither of them said a word for what seemed like forever. Janet felt warm, safe, and happy laying with Eddie. He slept in his underwear – yum – and Janet could still hardly get over his scent as she cozied up to him in bed at night. He was a feast for her olfactory senses; one part Eddie, one part day-old Speedstick, one part Crest. This combination meant home to her now. Content and totally beat, she started to nod off.

"Janet?" Eddie whispered. Janet startled a bit. Oh no, he wants to talk, she thought as she wiped the tiny droplet of drool that had just started its voyage from the corner of her mouth to Eddie's chest. In their few short months of bedtimes together, Janet had discovered that Eddie had this quirky yet endearing habit of turning into a complete chatterbox in bed at night. That is, if they weren't engaged in other bedtime extracurriculars. It was so funny. Here was this masculine guy's guy who didn't think twice about chest-butting his friends and shot-gunning High Life, but get him in bed at night and all the emotions and events of the day started leaking out like spaghetti water through a sieve. It was his processing time. Janet had hoped he'd be too bushed to process much tonight. No such luck.

She replied, stifling a yawn, "What's up, Buttercup?"

He smiled quizzically at her unconventional term of endearment. "Have you been OK lately? I mean, is anything going on at work? You just seem kind of tense and stuff whenever I stop by the bar, and when I ask how work's going you just roll your eyes. I'm gettin' kinda worried about you. What goes on?"

Janet was still half asleep and hoping against all odds she could make this quick. It really was sweet of him to be concerned, but she had to get some rest before re-entering the culinary lion's den tomorrow.

She was too tired to even lift her head, so she just talked right into Eddie's chest. "That's sweet of you to ask. Yeah, I mean no, everything's cool. It's just, I told you about how Sully pulled some stuff off the menu and added some new stuff and everybody's got their underwear in a bundle over that. I mean, why shoot the messenger? Like I have control over the master chef? I'm a glorified bus boy."

"Bus girl, I believe," Eddie joked, playfully grabbing Janet's butt through his Knights tee.

An involuntary yawn interrupted her laugh. "'Scuse me. Fine, bus girl. So it's been a little tense. Plus, Rooster's been a real pill lately. Makes for kind of a toxic work environment."

"What crawled up his ass?" Eddie inquired. Truth be told Eddie had never really liked the guy. He was a pest, a kind of ever-present mosquito, always hovering around Janet. It was all just too Pretty in Pink; Janet was like Andie, Eddie was Blaine, and Rooster was all Duckie, an unwelcome third wheel with a colossal chip on his shoulder. Though Eddie couldn't bust his chops too much. He seemed harmless enough.

Janet couldn't keep her eyes open and had nodded off again already but realized Eddie was still talking. She wasn't sure what he'd said last, but she was pretty sure it had been interrogative in nature. Oh yeah, Rooster. "Yeah, I don't know what's got him so creased. He's just never been the same since he kissed me."

Oh shit. Had she just said that out loud? Eyes like saucers, she was wide awake now. And she had been excommunicated from Eddie's lazy embrace as he'd had yanked his arm out from under her and was now on his side facing her, a simultaneously incredulous and disgusted look gracing his ruggedly pretty face.

"What?" he said, his voice going up in that kind of half-laugh way it does when he's either ticked or confused. "That freak kissed you? When? What the? Why didn't…" Uh oh. An inability to complete his sentences usually signified some fairly intense anger for Eddie. He had a hard time thinking when he saw red.

Janet reached for his hand hoping to quell the tsunami of fury she cold see roiling in Eddie's eyes. "No, it's not like that at all. It's just…It wasn't a big deal and I didn't tell you because the circumstances were really embarrassing." She took a breath and scanned his face for a reaction. She couldn't believe it had come out like this. She knew she'd have to tell him eventually about Rooster's kiss and the whole practice make-out session, but she'd hoped to keep it under wraps until her relationship with Eddie was on a little more solid footing. She knew Eddie had a quick temper and often struck first and asked questions later. Deep down she didn't think he'd actually be jealous of Rooster. Eddie was too secure in himself for misplaced envy. What really killed her was how stupid the whole situation made her look. I mean, who is so nervous about getting naked with their boyfriend that they have to plot their attack with a coworker? She felt pitiful. And things had gone so well since then. So very, very well. With the gift of 20/20 hindsight, she knew she'd been worked up for nothing. Lord, what she wouldn't give for a mulligan right now.

She gazed at Eddie. His expression was irritated but not violent. At least he wasn't on his way out the door already on a mission to pummel Rooster. "Well, you've got my attention, Janet. What in God's name would've given that little twerp the idea that it was OK to kiss you?"

Knowing it was no time to start weaving a web of lies, Janet thought for a minute, choosing her words carefully so as not to paint herself as some desperate, pitiful sexual newbie. She knew that a lack of confidence was not exactly an attractive quality in women; she didn't want to give Eddie any fodder for questioning their relationship at this point. Although, truth be told, he had acted like a serious ass toward the beginning of their courtship, what with standing her up for Allison Rowan's birthday barbecue and all. That certainly hadn't helped her confidence much. Getting just the slightest bit indignant now, she began,

"OK. You know how amazing things were between us after Homecoming, those first months we were dating? I've never felt anything like it. But after a few months when we hadn't had sex yet, I was starting to worry that you were beginning to see me more as _good_ friend than _girl_ friend material. It didn't help my confidence much, and I couldn't figure out what to do. I knew I wanted our relationship to move to the next level, so badly, but I was really nervous. I guess a part of me was scared because I'm not typical Eddie Latekka material, and part of me was nervous that you didn't quite have the same intensity of feelings I had. So I knew that the On the Waterfront night was going to be the night. But I was petrified."

So far so good, Janet thought. Honest and not too desperate sounding. But the expression on Eddie's fact hadn't changed an iota.

"So, what does all this have to do with Rooster kissing you?" he interjected impatiently.

"Well, OK this is where it really gets humiliating. I talked with Allison Rowan at Sully's one day about how I was feeling, and she suggested I do a dry run so I'd feel more comfortable when you and I were finally together."

"A dry run? That's an interesting choice of words…"

Janet cut him off, "Yes, OK, it was stupid. I know! But I asked Rooster to come over and kind of run through things with me. I mean, he's been my friend for a long time, he's a guy..."

Eyebrows raised, Eddie cocked his head, "I don't know if I'd go that far."

"Eddie! You know what I mean. Well, anyway, come to find out, he's wanted to be a little more than friends for a while."

"Can't say I blame him there." Finally, a hint of a smile from Eddie. Thank God. As Janet suspected, Eddie wasn't the least bit threatened by Rooster.

"Well, so I kind of ran through the moves I had planned,"

"Moves? You mean that whole night was orchestrated? A calculating seduction? Why, Janet Meadows, " Eddie was almost laughing now. Janet felt the mood lighten just a smidge. Things were moving in the right direction. This was going better than she'd hoped.

"Well, no, I didn't plan everything. Or even if I had, I grossly underestimated the Eddie quotient."

"The Eddie quotient?"

"Yeah, like your complete and blatant disregard for my choice of musical accompaniment?"

"Well, come on, I think I kicked the _fun_ quotient up a few notches. Anyway, you're not getting off that easy. I'm still waiting to find out how in the hell Rooster planted one on you."

"OK. OK. I know. Well, I just wanted to make sure nothing I did that night was too stupid or corny. So Rooster and I kind of walked through things and when we got to the part where a kiss would, well, happen… he actually kissed me, like full on! I was stunned. I pushed him off and looked at him and I can't even describe the expression on his face. It was like, embarrassment and adoration and confusion all mixed together. And then I knew. Rooster has a crush on me! I felt so stupid that I hadn't known. I tried to talk to him about it but he ran off so fast his Chuck Taylors left skid marks on my floor! And the rest, as they say, is history. He'll hardly look at me at work. He won't even answer a question directed right at him. And he will NOT talk about it with me. So that's the whole story."

Janet took a deep breath and allowed herself to savor the sweet feeling of relief for a few seconds. She felt so much better. She hadn't realized how much it was dragging her down, keeping this secret from Eddie. She was glad it was out in the open. She looked at Eddie, hoping to see evidence of a similar relief on his face. But his brow was furrowed, his mouth twisted.

She looked at him expectantly for a number of seconds until she couldn't take it any longer. "OK, you have to say something. Anger I can handle, mocking, irritation. You can even laugh at me! But please say something."

Eddie shook his head slightly. "No, I'm not mad. I just…I just find it kind of sad that you felt that nervous, or insecure or whatever, and instead of talking about it with me you worked it through with Rooster."

All right, so the insecurity really wasn't so attractive, just as Janet had feared. "I know, I'm sorry, Eddie. You're right, I should've just talked about it with you. But I guess I just didn't feel like we were there yet. I mean, I so wanted things to just progress and go well for us. And I don't really like to admit it but I was still kind of shaken by those feelings when you stood me up for the barbecue. You know, once you get hit with that kind of rejection it's pretty easy to be a little gun shy."

At that last comment Eddie clearly bristled, sat up rather emphatically in bed, swung his legs over and stood up. He was shaking his head, trying to get his words out. "Geez, Janet. I thought we'd moved past that whole thing. I did a shitty thing and I've said I'm sorry like two million times. How many times do I have to pay for that one mistake?" Pacing, Eddie paused for a split second. "So, is this gonna come up every freaking time we have a discussion about something? I mean, how's your kitchen sink working, Janet? You might as well throw that in for the hell of it, too."

Now Eddie wasn't the only one who was pissed. Janet stood up on her side of the bed. "Well I'm so sorry. You know, I'm sorry I'm not as smooth as you, not as sure of myself, not as cooooool (said with a mocking sneer). I was nervous. I was scared. And yeah, I'm afraid I may never forget the day of that barbecue. I have forgiven you. I get what was going on. But it really hurt then, and it still kinda hurts now. I mean, I put myself out there for you and you left me hanging. Things are way better now, I'm not stuck on it. But don't judge me because I felt the need to rehearse things a little bit to make sure everything was perfect for Eddie Latekka, King of the One Night Stand." As soon as those last words left her mouth she knew she'd gone too far. Oh, how she wished she could reach out into the air, grab that incendiary remark, and douse it under the mattress.

Eddie winced when we heard her last words. He walked over to the chair in the corner where his jeans, flannel, and socks were flung, and grabbed the clothes. He then sat down on the bed with his back to Janet and started putting his socks on.

"You know, Janet. The whole reason I didn't make a move to get you into bed sooner was because I respect you so damn much. I'm well aware of my history, and I don't need you or anyone to throw it in my face. But with you, from day one, it's been different. I was afraid maybe I was cursed somehow. I just could never seem to, or never wanted to sustain a relationship past the first night of sex. I so badly did not want that to happen with us. That's why I waited."

Janet's heart fell with a thud. She wanted to say something but words eluded her. She could feel her eyes welling up.

Eddie stood up and pulled on his jeans, put one arm then the other in his flannel, then turned around and faced Janet as he started buttoning. He looked right at her and said, deflated,

"I'm gonna go before I say anything more I might regret. I'll talk to you later."

He looked at her quickly before he walked out of the room. There she was looking like a wounded little girl in her socks and his gray t-shirt, tears running down both her cheeks. She simply said, "Eddie…"

But he couldn't say any more. He turned and walked out of the room and out of her house. As she heard his truck turn over, she grabbed the pillow Eddie had been laying on and pulled it to her face, sat on the edge of the bed, and, as Brett Michaels began to croon the first verse of Every Rose Has Its Thorn, she began to sob.


	2. Chapter 2

**The next day**

After not a wink of sleep all night, having cried so long and so hard that she shuddered every time she breathed in and her face was a gooey, snotty mess, and having rehashed their first real fight over and over and over, once the mercy of daylight had finally blessed her Janet had dragged herself into work. The day passed agonizingly slowly, like pulling a band-aid off one arm hair at a time. Thank God Rooster wasn't working – that clearly would've put her over the edge. She'd somehow robotically made it through the lunch rush. Even the jibes and ribs about the new menu hadn't fazed her, she was like a Teflon frying pan today. Sensing the gray cloud hanging over her head, everyone had pretty much stayed out of her path. She checked her cell phone and her home voicemail every twenty minutes or so to see if he had called. But there was nothing. Every time the door of the bar swung open she looked up, hope welling inside her chest, but Eddie never appeared. She didn't know what to do. But she knew she couldn't go on like this.

She got up the gumption to call Eddie on his cell. Since they'd been dating Eddie ALWAYS took her calls. She tried not to abuse the privilege and she'd tried to find it sweet, rather than disgusting, when she found out he even answered her calls when he was in the can. Why is it that guys don't realize the flushing sound transmits loud and clear through the phone line? Then again, maybe they know and just don't care. This thought made her smile. She'd give anything for a flush right now.

Eddie's phone rang four times and rolled to voicemail. Shit. She didn't even leave a message. OK, she thought, desperate times call for desperate measures. (Oh God, isn't desperation what got her into this mess in the first place?) She knew down deep, though, that she really was the one at fault here. In all honesty Eddie had handled everything amazingly maturely last night. He really did seem to be growing as a person. But she wasn't. She'd acted stupidly then gone too far defending herself and her actions. She had a feeling she'd made a pretty egregious rookie relationship error – she'd fought a little too dirty. She needed to make it right.

She called Best Friend Windows and Nick answered the phone.

"Hey, Nick, it's Janet. Is Eddie there?"

"Hey, Janet. No, he's actually been on site at the school for the last few hours. He was really in a foul mood this morning, though, stormin' around and stuff. What goes on?"

"Well, we had our first official fight last night and unfortunately it wasn't pretty. But it's really my fault and I need to see him. Do you think you'll see him before the end of the day?"

"Yeah, he's gotta come back in because we have to review any changes from today and map out next week's schedule before the weekend."

"Good. I haven't been able to reach him on his cell all day. When you see him will you tell him that I'm going to come by his house tonight around 6:00? And then will you do whatever you possibly can to make sure he's there?"

"Absolutely. I don't think you have much reason to worry, though. I asked him earlier if he wanted to have a few drinks after work today and he said no, he just wanted to go home and get some sleep. I know this is eating at him too. I'm sure he'll be there."

"Thanks, Nick. I owe ya one."

"You owe me nothing. Just do me one favor? Try to keep my boy happy?"

Nick could hear Janet exhale on the other end of the line. "I'll try Nick. I really will."

When Janet pulled up outside of Eddie's house, she took a minute to compose herself. She looked at herself in her rearview mirror. She looked pretty good, considering. She'd been able to get home and take a quick shower before heading over here. Her face finally felt normal again. All day it had felt so puffy and tight and salty – the after effects of the previous night's bawl fest. She'd taken special pains with her appearance tonight. She had a feeling there may be a few more tears to come so she'd opted for her waterproof mascara. And now in her car she put on some of the Burt's Bees cocoa-colored lip stuff she knew Eddie liked so much. Glorified chap-stick, it smelled and tasted of peppermint, and it looked pretty and natural. She thought about rehearsing what she wanted to say, but she stopped herself. She felt she needed to speak from her heart and just try to be in the moment with Eddie. In her constant rumination today she'd realized that part of the problem is that she just cared too damn much what people thought, which led her to kind of dampen her feelings before sharing them. She knew she needed to be real with Eddie tonight if they were going to be able to get past this.

Satisfied with how she looked – clean and natural and like she'd made an effort but not _too_ much of an effort - she took a couple deep breaths, said a little prayer for her own strength and Eddie's clemency, and walked up to the house. Physical Phil opened the door before she could even knock.

"Hey, Janet. Come on in. Eddie's in his room."

"Thanks, Phil. Is he OK?"

"No, but I get the feeling he's glad you're coming over."

Janet smiled a rueful smile and walked back to Eddie's room. As she walked through the house she could hear the words to Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill hit her ears. She smiled. Eddie was listening to the mix she'd made him for their one-month anniversary. Although they didn't always see eye to eye when it came to music (Bay City Rollers??), Eddie had actually come to appreciate Janet's eclectic musical sense. She really loved music, and knew a lot about it. All time periods and all genres. She'd turned him on to pre-Sledgehammer Peter Gabriel, and it made her happy to hear it now. She realized it had been awhile since she'd made that mix for him; now might be a good time for a new one. She made a mental note to upload her Chicago 16 CD to her iTunes. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" seemed more than appropriate at this juncture.

Eddie was laying on top of his made bed, his work boots still on, when Janet found him. She stopped short of walking into the room, leaning into the doorway instead. Her heart about leapt out of her chest when she saw him. Their fight last night seemed like an eternity ago. It felt like months since she'd seen him. He looked absolutely incredible laying there with his five o'clock shadow, crumpled jeans, and white undershirt. He had his arms behind his head and she could see a faint ring of damp at his armpit. He wasn't a profuse sweatter. Must've just been a heck of a day.

"Hey," she said, looking right into his eyes, fighting with all her might her instinct to run over and kiss him silly. The situation called for a bit more decorum.

"Hey." His "hey" only halfway came out. He was hoarse. Someone else had shed a few tears in the last 20 hours or so. He looked at Janet, took her in. He had expected that his anger would tweak up again when he saw her, but much to his astonishment it didn't. He was just honestly and completely glad to see her. She looked fantastic. Tired, but fantastic. He could tell she had just showered. He could tell her make-up was fresh. He stared at her bronzey lips. He would've liked to have kissed her then and there. But he knew there needed to be some words first.

After a minute of looking into each other's eyes from across the room, they both started to speak and said, "I'm sorry," nearly in unison. Well, maybe Janet started half a second sooner, but the effect was the same. They both smiled awkwardly and looked away. But neither moved. Then Janet spoke first,

"Eddie, I _am_ sorry. With everything I have I'm sorry. What I said last night was totally out of line and I need you to know, I hope you already know, that I didn't mean it. I was hurt and embarrassed and I lashed out. I was wrong. It was all my fault. I am so sorry."

"No, you were right. I overreacted and I obviously didn't have a clue what you'd been feeling. And I didn't get how badly I hurt you with the whole barbecue thing. I mean, I thought I'd gotten it, but I guess I didn't understand that it still might be affecting you. I thought I'd pretty much wiped the slate clean when I kissed you at Sully's in front of the whole entire world the night of the Homecoming game. But I can understand that you still may have felt unsure. And truthfully, I really hate myself for making you feel that way."

The music was still playing in the background. The soft sounds of Sting's "Fortress Around Your Heart" now filling the air between Janet and Eddie. _And if I built this fortress around your heart, encircled you in trenches and barbed wire. Then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm…_

Janet thought about what Eddie had just said. "Eddie, I have to admit that I've struggled with feeling worthy of you. It's not that I don't think I'm a fantastic person, or that I don't think I deserve someone as amazing as you. I do. I know I do. I just, I guess I just sometimes still have to pinch myself to be sure that this is all real, you know? I've dreamed about having someone like you come into my life for so long. And now here you are and you're better than the dream. And I'm so afraid I'll wake up, so afraid I may lose you that I cling for dear life. But I want to get over that. I want what we have to just be real, not some fairly tale."

"Me too. It is real Janet. We're real. I'm real. I'm not some mythic figure that can only score touchdowns, swill beer, and screw women. You know that. You have to trust me. I'm in this. And if I give you reason not to trust me, or God forbid to be nervous about being around me, you gotta kick my ass, OK? Set me straight. Don't go running to someone else. I mean, Rooster?"

They were both laughing now. Janet's arms were crossed and she let out a big sigh. Man, she was falling deeper by the second. Then she started laughing even harder, thinking back to a moment in last night's fight…she was suddenly laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. It was that almost maniacal laughter that hits when you're really emotional and rides the tide between a laugh and a cry, and the more you laugh the closer you come to peeing in your pants.

"Janet, what the hell is so funny?"

Janet tried a few times to stop shaking before finally regaining her composure. "Oh God. Sorry, I just…I had a flashback to, " 'How's your kitchen sink working, Janet?' You might as well throw that in for the hell of it!' I'm sorry, but that was hysterical! And so totally on the mark! What I said must've sounded totally out of left field to you. Sometimes I forget people don't have a direct line to my thought processes. It was so perfect, what you said. It just makes me laugh,"

Eddie was belly laughing too. "Well I'm glad to give you a good chuckle at my expense. I did think you were a little off your rocker." He thought wistfully for another minute then his expression sobered up. He still hadn't changed position, still lying on his back, hands behind his neck. "All right, seriously, Janet. Just promise me we'll keep talking when stuff like this comes up, OK. Can you do that? Can we do that?"

Janet smiled and gave a curt nod. "We can do that." The relief came over her in a wave and she could feel the tears coming, in spite of her best efforts to keep them at bay. The amazing laugh had unleashed her emotions. She didn't really want to cry right now but she was so exhausted, her brain and her heart felt like wrung out dishtowels. Well, at least she'd had the foresight to go with the waterproof Great Lash. She looked at Eddie, armor off, and let him see the tears roll down her cheeks.

"Come here," he said softly, beckoning her but still not moving. She finally walked through the doorway, kicking the door shut behind her as she came into the room. She walked over to his bed and stood next to it. He finally took his hands out from behind his head, turned over on his side to face her, and scooted a bit to make room for her. After kicking her shoes off, she laid down next to him not like a spoon but facing him, laying on her side. He reached over to her and gently wiped the tears from her face. Then he picked up one of her curls and twisted it around his finger. He let it go and smiled when it sprang right back into place. God she was beautiful. He traced the features of her face with his finger, and noted that the Sting song had faded. He'd listened to this mix so many times he knew what was coming next. Depeche Mode. Janet had this special place in her heart for eighties euro-pop, an appreciation he hadn't shared until he'd known her. He and Janet had been like five years old when this song was written. He'd never even heard it before he'd gone out with her. It was safe to say it had rocked the stadium of his heart. Now forehead to forehead, they were quiet as the song played.

_I want somebody who cares for me passionately. With every thought and with every breath. Someone who'll help me see things in a different light. All the things I detest I will almost like. I don't want to be tied to anyone's strings. I'm carefully trying to steer clear of those things. But when I'm asleep, I want somebody who will put their arms around and kiss me tenderly…_

That's about all the further they could make it.

They both leaned in and kissed a sweet, apologetic kiss. It went on forever. Eddie finally pulled away first then kissed each of Janet's eyes and the tip of her nose. He hugged her tightly, an exuberant bear hug of sorts, then buried his head in the crook of her neck. She had on a v-neck shirt and he took advantage of this, kissing the skin below her neck so softly it almost tickled. After a while he came back up for air and kissed her mouth again with just the slightest bit more urgency. His hand had found her hips as well as the hem of her shirt. He tugged on it and she moved enough that he pulled it up and off of her. He then made quick work of the rest of her clothes. Deft and dexterous, the boy had clearly done this a few hundred times. He pulled her socks off, too, and lightly kissed an ankle bone. She was blushing by now, but she certainly wasn't putting up a fight. Every shred of clothing expertly removed from her, there lay Janet Meadows facing Eddie Latekka, still wearing every stitch of his clothes, including his steel-toed boots.

She looked at him as if to say, "No way, Buddy," and without saying a word got him out of his t-shirt. Then he pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms. There was nothing in the world better than that feeling of skin on skin. A jeans button cold on your stomach. She was warm and flushed and she smelled amazing.

Their kissing became a lot more involved now. Every now and then they took a break to just look at each other for a sec. They still hadn't said a word, and they didn't need to. They'd said more than enough this past day. Right now they just needed to feel each other.

Eddie took his time touching and kissing Janet. She started to feel as though there was a cinder smoldering in her gut, like someone had haphazardly flicked a cigarette butt and it had had burned a hole through her stomach. She let Eddie do his thing as long as she possibly could, but finally she couldn't take it any more. She pushed him off of her onto his back and de-clothed him, for the most part. She was a woman on a mission. And he was impressed.

She leaned down on his chest to look at him face to face. Their noses touched. She smiled a smug smile, knowing she had exactly what Eddie wanted in that moment.

And that's how it went. Very softly and very slowly, with Janet in control, Eddie with his boots still on. It was good. It was really, really good. It was the best yet.

Afterwards, Janet finally took off Eddie's boots, socks, and the jeans from his ankles. She sat at the foot of the bed and rubbed his feet for a while while they laughed and talked and caught up with each other. Then she snuggled back in with him, resuming the position she'd been so coldly cast out of the night before.

"So, Janet, you know how I just said that we need to talk things through more?" Janet nodded. "Yeah, well I think I might have spoken too soon. Let's not talk. Let's fight more. I really like what happens when you're regretful."

Janet belly laughed and smacked his still-bare butt. "You want a fight? You got a fight. Any time."

Janet slept at Eddie's that night. After quietly skulking down to the kitchen to scavenge some dinner – fried egg sandwiches, Hostess cupcakes and a few beers, (has there ever been a more glorious post-coital meal?)- they'd come back to Eddie's room and done it all over again. As they lay there flirting with sleep, Janet felt like something was a little different. Maybe a lot of things were a little different. She took a deep breath and felt Eddie's sheets. Yes, things were definitely different.

"Eddie, your sheets feel awesome. Crisp and clean – have you turned over a new leaf?"

"You've shown me the light, woman. No more Downy for me."

And that was about the extent of their pillow talk. No Chatterbox Eddie tonight. Exhausted and really, really contented, they'd fallen asleep back to back, butt to butt, silently, Squeeze's "Satisfied" playing softly in the background.


	3. Chapter 3

**A week or so later**

Eddie sat outside of Sully's in his truck, contemplating his plan. He and Janet had gotten through their first big fight, and seemed stronger for it. And while he'd done everything in his power to be restrained when he'd heard about Rooster kissing Janet, he still felt he had a little unfinished business to attend to. After all, he did have a reputation to uphold. He knew word of the kiss was bound to get hocked like a ripe loogie out of the Ridge rumor mill one way or another, and he couldn't have the town's populace thinking he'd gone soft.

Knowing Janet was off for the day, doing wedding prep stuff with Hannah now that they seemed to be getting along better, Eddie walked into Sully's. He'd had a chance to see Janet's work schedule for the week and knew Rooster was working today. The bar was busy, but not packed. Typical Saturday late lunch crowd. Eddie walked his purposeful Latekka walk – make that strut – up to the bar. Rooster looked at him, held his glance for about four seconds, then went right back to filling ketchup bottles, not even acknowledging Eddie's presence.

"Hey, what's a guy gotta do around here to get a draft?"

Rooster looked up at Eddie and did nothing to disguise the disdain in his eyes or his voice. "Oh, it must be my lucky day. God's gift has come in for his nectar. What'll it be, the Asshole Ale or the Shit-for-Brains Stout?" Glowering now, Rooster randomly pulled a draft and shoved it across the bar at Eddie.

The beer hit the edge of the bar with a splash, and a good amount of cool American lager landed in Eddie's lap. Eddie just laughed. Clearly Rooster didn't know that he knew about the kiss. This was going to be a lot of fun.

"You know, Rooster, you're pretty bold for a guy who goes around kissing other guys' girlfriends." Eddie looked up just in time to see Rooster's face go pale. Crap. As much as Rooster absolutely hated to admit it, Eddie did have some type of power over him. It felt like high school all over again. Rooster suddenly felt like he was in the middle of a John Hughes movie. It was not an unfamiliar feeling. His tone changed immediately,

"What? That? That was, that was, that was just a misunderstanding. I mean, (clearly backpedaling) I mean, Janet told you about that?"

It was good to see the twerp squirm. "Yeah, she told me." Eddie stood up and actually walked around the other side of the bar, something he had never done, even when Janet was working. For some reason he thought he would tower over Rooster but, as it turns out, not so much. Hmm. With no perceptible loss of wind in his sails, Eddie leaned in to come within about an inch of Rooster's face. This fairly brazen move had attracted the attention of everyone in the bar, which is just what Eddie had wanted. The patrons were prepared for yet another Eddie Latekka show. After all, he held the record for bar brawls in the Ridge. It was a sure bet.

Eddie could feel the momentum building and he truly did feel like he could crack Rooster with a mean right hook. But, the more mature Eddie prevailing, he knew that would do nothing to fix the situation. In all reality there was no harm done. He just kind of wanted to set the record straight. So he said quietly, so that only Rooster could hear,

"She tells me everything – you got that? And I know you and her have been friends a long time now. I got no problem with that. And, though I really don't owe you squat, for Janet's sake you need to know that I treat her right and have no intention of breaking her heart. She doesn't need a watchdog any more."

Rooster was quaking, whether with fear or disbelief it was difficult to tell. He was taken off guard by Eddie. He had no reply.

Eddie eased up a bit, stepping back slightly but still speaking just above a whisper. "I know you're just trying to look out for Janet, and I can't fault you that. But now that we've had our little chat, know this: If your lips get anywhere near any part of her body again, I **will** break your face."

With that, Eddie walked back around the bar, slammed his entire beer, and walked –make that strutted - out of the bar, leaving Rooster and every Sully's patron wagging their heads, mouths agape. Rooster tried to shake it off and announced to the crowd, feigning nonchalance, "Nothing to see here. Get back to your libations." Then, his black Chuck Taylors carried his rubbery legs over to the juke box, where he stood thinking for a minute, then with a hint of a grin, chose D14: "If You Leave" by OMD. Go, Duckie, Go.


End file.
